Socrates, The Great Questioner

I have been seeing a lot of articles about the value of questioning not only what one is doing, but what others are doing, as well. This is based on the idea that the actions of others may very well affect you, your family, and your business. As a home-based entrepreneur, chances are you are your business’s only employee. This means any actions by outsiders, even if directed at your family in some way, also affects your business. This is why you should constantly question everything, just as Socrates recommended 2,400 years ago. His questioning philosophy makes him perhaps the greatest questioner who ever lived; it also caused his execution. Please don’t go that far. In this article we will discuss Socrates’ ideas about questioning...and how to put those ideas to work in your business and your life.

NOTE: Some of the discussion here can be further researched here or at this URL. The Google Website will reveal thousands of references for Socrates.

SITUATIONS THAT REQUIRE QUESTIONS

Here are a few situations, some of which have happened to people I know well, where questioning gets results. It is hoped these examples will illustrate some ways questions can help you operate your business in a more informed manner:

During the Thanksgiving Holiday season, a local grocery chain offered points for purchasing groceries, the points to be used for a free turkey. The purchases had to be spread over a number of weeks, but the store did not clearly explain all the details. A friend of mine thought she did not qualify because she found out about the program late; nevertheless, she asked the cashier if she qualified. The answer was that they could go back to the start of the program and give her points for all those early purchases.

One Health Care provision that requires immediate questioning is the requirement for filing Form 1099 for payments to suppliers, and others, of all amounts over $600. This could be very expensive and time consuming for home-based entrepreneurs. You need to question this with your Congressional representatives.

A provision of the Health Care Act that affects my senior friends relates to a 50% discount on brand name drugs during the so-called doughnut hole period when Medicare Plan D is exhausted. Exactly how will this discount be paid to recipients? I have talked to local senior representatives, paid by my state, and searched Google. Nobody knows how this will happen, even though the provision is supposed to be active right now. More questions are needed.

The new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau created in the Dodd-Frank financial regulatory reform law may have some regulatory powers over how businesses operate. You need to begin questioning now how this may effect how your business runs; your questions are especially important because many people think the new bureau's actions may be difficult for Congress to follow.

A county hospital near my home has experienced financial problems for many years, leading the hospital board to consider a lease or sale to an outside group. They received several offers, one of which was backed by a vast majority of doctors, nurses, and local citizens. The final say was with the county commissioners, who proceeded against the wishes of the citizens. Local citizen groups began to question the wisdom of the commissioners' decision with such success the outside company withdrew their offer. This final decision will affect every family in the community, including entrepreneurs and their families. Questions bring results. Keep a watch on your local and state governments and question everything they do to see if it affects your business in any way.

A person I know was out of town for an extended period during a severe hurricane that trashed his home. During a trivial conversation at a local store, he casually asked if the county was offering any kind of assistance. The answer was that there could be if people applied in time. By asking this question, the person ultimately was presented with a new home by the county using FEMA funds. In this case, the home is the office of an entrepreneur. Again, questions matter.

Perhaps the most important questions an entrepreneur can ask are those about a new business he is considering. This is true whether the opportunity is an affiliate program, a franchise, or some other kind of home based business. In this case, questioning involves searching for and reading every review of your prospective business you can find. Check the reviewer’s relationship to your prospective business. Often a review will be very critical until you realize the reviewer is pitching his own opportunity. Another search tool that is very effective is to search Google using a phrase similar to, “ABC Company sucks.” Amazingly, this phrase will uncover all the trash talk out there, if there is any. A final part of this kind of questioning involves drilling down through the principals of the business, like owners or primary promoters. You will be amazed at the information you can obtain from these kinds of business questions.

These situations demonstrate a number ways questions can help you run your business. Pay attention to the ideas behind these situations and decide to question anything that may affect you in any way. Now, let’s see how Socrates handled questions.

THE ELEMENT OF VIRTUE

The dictionary defines virtue this way:

Moral excellence; goodness; righteousness; conformity of one's life and conduct to moral and ethical principles; uprightness; rectitude.

According to Socrates, virtue is the knowledge which controls all human actions. Socrates believed any activity that was not good resulted because of the ignorance of good things. He believed all vice is due to ignorance; if one understands what self-control, courage, or justice means, they will automatically act according to this understanding. Socrates said that, even if someone did a terrible thing, it was because he thought what he was doing was right. He did not believe a person would do something they felt was awful and terribly wrong, but they decided to do it anyway. People would never do terrible things unless they felt they were justified, and therefore were done for a good reason.

A life of virtue, Socrates felt, was always the best interest for any person. He felt no one could be happy who was not morally good. His ideas about this are stated in his Apology:

I do nothing but go about persuading you all, old and young alike, not to take thought for your persons or properties, but first and chiefly to care about the greatest improvement of the soul. I tell you that virtue is not given by money, but that from virtue comes money and every other good of man, public as well as private.
It is the job of the philosopher, therefore, to strip away people's misconceptions, delusions and self-deceptions in order to bring them to a better understanding of the good and thus to help them attain the goal that all human beings desire–happiness.

SOCRATIC METHOD OF INQUIRY

The Socratic method of inquiry was created to focus on a person’s ignorance using questioning.
The questions were designed to lead a person into making contradictions in their beliefs. Of course, nobody liked to be exposed like this, so Socrates was sentenced to death because of his method of inquiry. Please don’t carry this to that extent. However, this is a very effective way to gain the upper hand in any dispute or negotiation, so pay attention and use those ideas that relate to your situation.

The format of the inquiry is such that the people being questions are supposed to answer “yes” or “no” until they reveal that their answers are all false. After that, Socrates always gave a long speech revealing his own ideas about the subject. This method will show inconsistencies in a person’s thinking.

Socrates continues with these ideas:

Question everything.
Do not merely take something at face value, or do something because someone says so, whether it is one person or a hundred.

All knowledge is made up of smaller bits of knowledge and so on until at the bottom there are fundamental axioms or self evident rules that require no proof.

Socrates’ idea was to reduced peoples’ beliefs down to the point where he could say, “I know this,” instead of , “I believe this,” when he found contradictions in thinking of his adversaries. He said to never be afraid to say what you think, especially if it is the truth. He says to do this even if saying these things makes people hate you. In his case, saying what he thought caused his execution in the Athens of long ago. However, his teachings have been carried on right down to the present time. If you use the Socrates method, you are sure to be criticized because people really hate for others to see how wrong they are, and how little they know.

PARADOXES OF SOCRATES

The very nature of Socrates’ thinking leads to a number of paradoxes in his method. Some of these are:

No one desires evil.

No one errs or does wrong willingly or knowingly.

Virtue - all virtue - is knowledge.

Virtue is sufficient for happiness.

The phrase, "Socratic paradox," can also refer to a self-referential paradox, originating in Socrates' phrase, "I know that I know nothing." Socrates believed that the first step towards wisdom is knowing that ultimately you are ignorant; remember that you know nothing.

Socrates stuck to his principles, even in the face of death. He refused to flee, when given the chance, saying that would break his contract with people, and would look as though he feared death. I’m not sure how many entrepreneurs are willing to take this stand today. Socrates says you must first know exactly who you are before attempting to make others realize their own ignorance.

Socrates purposely argued with the supposedly wisest and most influential people he could find. He showed they knew much less than people thought they knew. Though despised by many, he was thought to be the wisest man ever. He said his wisdom was because he knew nothing, and those he disproved thought they were wise, but actually they knew nothing. Socrates believed truth is the most important thing in life, and everyone should do whatever is required to find it. This is the ultimate Socratic paradox—all virtue is knowledge of good and evil.

CONCLUSION

Remember, questions you must constantly ask relate to keeping you alert to dangers, revealing opportunities, showing you new ideas, making you well informed, and a better entrepreneur. Use the Socrates method, but don’t make everyone so angry they refuse to talk with you.